Why is it important to have effective social protection approaches to support climate change adaptation?

Climate change presents a complex and multidimensional risk for people, and it affects different populations in various ways, such as women, men, children, people living in urban and rural areas and people living in developed, developing, and poorer regions. For example, people in poorer regions are disproportionately affected by climate change due to fewer economic resources and weaker infrastructure to effectively adapt to the effects of climate change (The Action Aid, 2021). Also, rural populations are especially vulnerable to climate change because they rely on nature for their livelihoods and work mostly in the agricultural sector which is the sector that is the most affected by climate change. Thus, already vulnerable populations become more desperate and more vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Effective social protection systems can support populations to become prepared and resilient to sudden shocks related to climate change in their life cycle. Also, they can help mitigate the risks of climate change on vulnerable populations. In response to the risks of climate change, such systems should intentionally integrate concerns related to the climate crisis into social protection policies (Costella et al., 2021). 

According to Costella et al. (2021), the effects of climate change can be understood with its two aspects. Firstly, climate change can have direct effects on the economic and social well-being of individuals. These direct effects involve extreme events, such as rainfalls, storms, and extreme temperatures, as well as slow onset and stresses, such as loss of biodiversity and desertification (these are gradual changes to the environment). Secondly, climate change can have indirect effects that are connected with the wider socioeconomic structures and policies in different fields. These indirect effects involve socioeconomic processes that interact with climate change, such as deforestation and migration as well as climate change response measures, such as higher energy prices and job loss. 

Adaptive Social Protection (ASP) aims to work with and assist individuals to better cope and become more resilient to the effects of large-scale crises, such as climate change (The World Bank Group, 2016). Although social protection measures can involve short-term and shock-responsive financial assistance, such as humanitarian aid and cash assistance when a crisis occurs, they can also help poor and vulnerable populations to build long-term resilience to crises related to the climate during a crisis and also before it hits (The World Bank Group, 2016). Four building blocks are important for ASP systems. These building blocks are cooperation and coordination, data and information systems on risks and vulnerable people, financial resources, and social protection programs (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), 2021). ASP integrates the areas of social protection, disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation (Cornelius et al., 2018).

Social protection measures aim to mitigate the direct and indirect effects of climate change to reduce poverty and vulnerability, protect individuals from sudden risks and shocks, support adaptation, and support climate change transition (see The World Bank Group, 2016). 

References

Cornelius, A., Béné, C., Howland, F., & Henderson, E. (2018). Five key principles for Adaptive Social Protection programming. Https://Www.Itad.Com/Article/Five-Key-Principles-for-Adaptive-Social-Protection-Programming/.

Costella, C., McCord, A., van Aalst, M., Holmes, R., Ammoun, J., & Barca, V. (2021). Social Protection Approaches to COVID-19: Expert Advice Social protection and climate change: scaling up ambition.

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). (2021). Adaptive Social Protection.

The Action Aid. (2021). Climate change and poverty. Https://Www.Actionaid.Org.Uk/Our-Work/Emergencies-Disasters-Humanitarian-Response/Climate-Change-and-Poverty.

The World Bank Group. (2016). Adaptive Social Protection Program: Addressing the challenges of climate change and disaster risk for the poor and vulnerable.